Several in vivo measurement systems are known in the art. They include swallowed electronic capsules which collect data and which transmit the data to an external receiver system. These capsules, which are moved through the digestive system by the action of peristalsis, are used to measure pH (“Heidelberg” capsules), temperature (“CoreTemp” capsules), and pressure throughout the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. They have also been used to measure gastric residence time, which is the time it takes for food to pass through the stomach and intestines. These capsules typically include a measuring system and a transmission system, wherein the measured data is transmitted at radio frequencies to a receiver system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,604,531, issued Feb. 18, 1997 to Iddan et al., titled “In Vivo Video Camera System” teaches an in vivo measurement system, in particular an in vivo camera system, which is carried by a swallowed capsule. In addition to the camera system there is an optical system for imaging an area of the GI tract onto the imager and a transmitter for transmitting the video output of the camera system. The overall system, including a capsule that can pass through the entire digestive tract, operates as an autonomous video endoscope. It images even the difficult-to-reach areas of the small intestine.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0023150 A1, filed Jul. 25, 2002 by Yokoi et al., titled “Capsule-Type Medical Device And Medical System” teaches a swallowed capsule-type medical device which is advanced through the inside of the somatic cavities and lumens of human beings or animals for conducting examination, therapy, or treatment. Signals including images captured by the capsule-type medical device are transmitted to an external receiver and recorded on a recording unit. The images recorded are retrieved in a retrieving unit and displayed on the liquid crystal monitor to be compared by an endoscopic examination crew with past endoscopic disease images that are stored in a disease image database.
The examination requires the capsule to travel through the GI tract of an individual, which will usually take a period of many hours. A feature of the capsule is that the patient need not be directly attached or tethered to a machine and may move about during the examination. While the capsule will take several hours to pass through the patient, images will be recorded and will be available while the examination is in progress. Consequently, it is not necessary to complete the examination prior to analyzing the images for diagnostic purposes. However, it is unlikely that trained personnel will monitor each image as it is received. This process is too costly and inefficient. However, the same images and associated information can be analyzed in a computer-assisted manner to identify when regions of interest or conditions of interest present themselves to the capsule. When such events occur, then trained personnel will be alerted and images taken slightly before the point of the alarm and for a period thereafter and the images can be given closer scrutiny. Another advantage of this system is that trained personnel are alerted to an event or condition that warrants their attention. Until such an alert is made, the personnel are able to address other tasks, perhaps unrelated to the patient of immediate interest.
Using computers to examine and to assist in the detection from images is well known. Also, the use of computers to recognize objects and patterns is also well known in the art. Typically, these systems build a recognition capability by training on a large number of examples. The computational requirements for such systems are within the capability of commonly available desk-top computers. Also, the use of wireless communications for personal computers is common and does not require excessively large or heavy equipment. Transmitting an image from a device attached to the belt of the patient is well-known.
In general, multiple passes of in vivo imaging are required for a patient in a course of disease diagnosis and treatment. The progress of the disease and the effectiveness of the treatment are evaluated by examining corresponding in vivo images captured in different passes. Notice that, using this type of capsule device, one pass of imaging could produce thousands and thousands of images to be stored and visually inspected by the medical professionals.
Notice also that U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0023150 teaches a method of storing the in vivo images first and retrieving them later for visual inspection of abnormalities. The method taught by 2003/0023150 lacks of the abilities of automatic detection of abnormalities. Furthermore, the method lacks of the abilities of multiple passes registration (or diagnostic alignment) for corresponding in vivo image evoking. Obviously, the inspection method taught by 0023150 is far from efficient.
It is useful to design an endoscopic imaging system that is capable of detecting an abnormality automatically and aligning in vivo images from multiple passes.
There is a need therefore for an improved endoscopic imaging system that overcomes the problems set forth above and addresses the utilitarian needs set forth above.
These and other aspects, objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood and appreciated from a review of the following detailed description of the embodiments and appended claims, and by reference to the accompanying drawings.